The lifetime of a traditional fluorescent tube is around 5000 hours and the ballast used to energize the tube has a lifetime of around 20,000 to 30,000 hours, as compared the lifetime of a lighting fixture which is over 100,000 hours. Due to the limitation posed by the shorter lifetime of fluorescent tubes, the design goal of linear lighting fixtures has been to use a standardized connection interface, such as the G13 socket, that facilitates the installation and uninstallation of the fluorescent tube into and out of the fixture, with all installation able to be safely performed by any consumer without any tools. Also, since the lifetime of the ballast is longer than that of the fluorescent tube, the ballast is normally screwed onto the fixture and must be changed by a qualified electrician, as ballast replacement involves re-wiring the power line.
The relatively recent appearance of the LED tube on the market as a replacement for the fluorescent tube has challenged the validity of the original design principal for linear fixtures. This is due to the fact that an LED tube has a potential lifetime exceeding 100,000 hours, and therefore does not require replacement within the lifetime of the linear fixture. As such, there is no longer the need for easy and frequent tube replacement, and thus the use of the standard G13 based socket interface becomes meaningless. Moreover, although the majority of LED tubes on the market still support the G13 based socket as a direct replacement for G13 based fluorescent tubes, the new linear LED luminaire, which consists of both the linear fixture and LED tube, does not require the G13 socket interface.
At the same time, while an LED chip has a potential lifetime of over 100,000 hours, the average lifetime of an LED driver is around 20,000 to 30,000 hours, which limits the overall lifetime of the LED lamp. The same lifetime limitation exists in the electronic components used in the LED light control module. This limitation gives rise to a new problem unique to the LED luminaire; namely, the LED light source or lamp has a significantly longer lifetime than the driver and the control module. Thus, the new design need of LED fixtures is the easy replacement of the driver or control module, rather than the LED tube or light source. Presently, all of the linear fixtures on the market hide the driver, the ballast, or the control module inside the fixture, making them difficult to access. As a result, any part replacement requires a qualified electrician. The traditional linear fixture design is clearly outdated with respect to the LED light source and driver.